One of the most consistent memories that I have from growing up with my dad is going to the movies. It is something that we did often and still do almost every time we see each other.

We would always show up just on time (or a little late), but regardless we would always stop to get Goobers. Every time.

The first movie that I remember seeing with him was Jurassic Park. I would have been just under four years old. I’m sure that it was not the first one I went to, but the memory stuck around because the T-Rex coming through the fence scared me enough that I was crying into his shoulder in the theater (I might have been a little young for that one). But even with how scared I was, I loved it.

I remember seeing Toy Story in the small theater in his home town. I remember seeing Star Wars for the first time and being completely blown away1. I remember the second Jurassic Park movie because it was the first time we could not get tickets and had to come back the next day.

There were times that I flew in to visit him and we went straight from the airport to the theater. We did this with Return of the King after getting in at 8 or 9 at night. In hindsight, it may have been better to wait until he next night for that one.

In the weeks leading up to us seeing each other, we aways tell the other other which movies they should not see so we have something to go watch. If we were going to spend any time together, you can bet a trip to the movie theater was going to be involved.

I say all of this because of how excited I am that Oliver is getting to the age that he can go to the movies.

Earlier this week, I picked him up a little early from school. Our first stop was Taco Bell (because there is no way Carissa would ever eat there). After that it was off to Warren Theater to watch Spider Man. We stopped to get Goobers and popcorn. He didn’t care about the popcorn, but the Goobers were a big success.

Since watching the movie, he has not stopped talking about it. He wants to listen to the soundtrack every time we are in the car and he points out the theater every time we drive past it.

I hope that when he is older, he will look back on his experiences in the movies with me in the same way that I do with my dad. If this week is any indication, we are on he right track.

Alas, they were the special editions. But I did not know any better at the time. ↩